Seyfarth Shaw and ex-partner face tax-shelter suits

A former partner of Seyfarth Shaw and the law firm itself are facing some two dozen Illinois lawsuits over distressed-asset tax shelters the plaintiffs contend they collected “exorbitant” fees by promoting.

The ex-partner, John E. Rogers, left Seyfarth several years ago and is now in practice in his own firm. He is accused in the suits, which were filed in Cook County Circuit Court in recent months, of selling abusive tax shelters to clients that offered an improper vehicle for lowering the income on which they were taxed, reports Crain’s Chicago Business (sub. req.).

Rogers did not admit liability, but agreed in 2011 to a government injunction that prohibited him from continuing to promote such tax shelters, as an earlier Associated Press article details.

The law firm told Crain’s it denies liability and will mount a vigorous defense. Rogers did not respond to the business publication’s request for comment.